Pret a Manger reports profit, all thanks to international expansion 

Pret a Manger, Coffee and bakery chain’s growth helped by global expansion, with 600 shops outside the UK.

Pret a Manger is back to profit for the first time since 2018 previous year as the launch of a subscription service helped the coffee and bakery chain bounce back after the corona crisis.

Britain’s sandwich chain Pret a Manger is back to profit: 

The business, which suffered during the outbreak lockdowns when office employees stayed home, said the revival had continued this year, with sales bouncing 20% to £430m in the six months to the end of June. 

It restarted its subscription service – which resumed in September 2020 – as Club Pret, upping the price by a fifth to £30 a month but adding a 10% deal on food and snacks alongside up to five hot beverages a day.

Pret’s subscription service generated 57.9m redemptions worldwide in 2022, up two-thirds from a year back.

Sales in the UK, where Pret has 446 stores hiring approximately 8,000 people, grew by about 16% in the half year, despite the cost of living problem, which has left families with less spare money to spend, as well as strike action on trains and at schools placing a dampener on sales.

Total sales were even boosted by global expansion. Pret now serves 15 nations on three continents. It seeks to have around 700 stores overseas by the end of 2023, up from 600. Global sales account for 19% of earnings.

The first-half sales pitch came after sales skyrocketed 71% to £790m in the year to the end of December 2022, and the firm recorded a yearly operating profit of £50.6m – bouncing back from a flop of £168m a year earlier.

Profits increased despite Pret raising salaries twice last year as the hospitality industry struggles to lure staff.